


Contentment

by allixiler



Category: The Outer Worlds (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Language, mentions of drug use
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:08:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27582511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allixiler/pseuds/allixiler
Summary: He's found his peace and now he can start a better life.
Relationships: Female Captain & Maximillian DeSoto, Female Captain/Maximillian DeSoto, The Captain/Maximillian DeSoto
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	Contentment

He was exhausted. Mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Max was long overdue for some well-needed rest. All the late nights that he stayed up searching through books as well as looking for answers by running around the colony he had been doing for...well, pretty much his whole life, had finally caught up to him. Suddenly, he felt the tired aches in his muscles all the way to his bones and the heaviness in his eyes that desperately needed to be closed for a real night of sleep.

She would be the first to admit that she had been extremely skeptical of this whole journey to discovery he had been on. The banned French book, the ex-con “scholar”, the hermit on Scylla. It was all very unnerving and rather strange. She identified quickly that all of his pent up anger and frustration came from all the dead ends he had hit. It was like he had been running into the same brick wall and was in an endless downward spiral with no sight of the ground beneath him to stop his fall. The only way to catch himself was to get some real answers. And when he had spent his whole life searching but to no avail: it wasn’t a surprise to her that he was the way he was. 

She cared about him a lot. More than she would’ve admitted to in the beginning. It physically pained her to see how desperately lost he was. The more time they spent together, (romantically and non-romantically) the more she worried. She watched him in the late night/early morning hours sitting at her desk thumbing through pages of books he’d read a thousand times, just hoping there was something that he had missed. Her heart sank every time she noticed him blankly staring off into space. She never had to ask what he was thinking about, because she already knew it was that one damn journal book. She never got in his way, but it took everything in her not to intervene. He was unhealthily obsessed. 

She had a nagging feeling since the moment he told her about his mission that whatever he was looking for wasn’t really there...or worse, it wasn’t the answers he wanted to hear. She knew this whole ordeal meant a lot to him. She could see how empty he was and how much he craved a sense of peace and content. That’s why it was such a relief when he did finally get that sense of content. 

To put it plainly, the experience with the hermit was weird. None of them were expecting to have to inhale literal drugs to “speed up the process”. The Captain had never done any kind of drugs, neither had Max nor Parvati. So it was a bit of a wonky feeling for all of them. It was all a bit of a blur to the Captain. She remembered seeing visions of Max’s late mother as well as...another version of Max. Needless to say, she very much preferred the Max she was accustomed to.

While the Captain didn’t remember much during the drug trip, Parvati and Max seemed to not have missed a single detail. Apparently the Captain had “passed out while standing up” and didn’t come back into reality until a while later. Right off the bat, the Captain realized that something was different. Max was suddenly so calm and serene. His voice was smoother and his eyes didn’t have that hardening glare in them. He looked...comfortable. She was afraid that the drugs had totally fucked him up for good. He assured her, however, that he was fine and that his eyes had been opened to what was real and true. He was content. That’s all she could ever want for him. She didn’t press too many questions yet, there was plenty of time for that. For now, she found it most important that he had enough time to dwell on his newly found peace on his own. 

Law knows he deserved it. 

They returned to the ship later that evening after finishing up a few other things around Scylla, both the Captain and Parvati were pleasantly surprised at his fresh behavior. Parvati, truthfully, was a little spooked at first. She had sped up her walk on the trek back to The Unreliable to catch up to the Captain;

“Captain, I think that hermit lady really did a number on him. He keeps smiling...” Parvati whispered frantically.

The Captain tossed him a quick glance over her shoulder. Parvati wasn’t wrong. He had a small smile plastered on his face as he looked at everything around them as they walked. As if he was seeing the world in a whole new lens.

“Parvati, I think we have a brand new man to get used to.” The Captain replied with a radiant grin. 

Parvati was still a little puzzled at the whole situation. It would take the crew a while to get used to this new Max. The Captain just hoped that Felix didn’t go into shock over it. The Captain unlocked the airlock to the ship, ushering her chosen crew inside. It was quiet aboard The Unreliable, signaling that everyone else was off for the night as well. Parvati was quick to retreat to her own cabin, fairing the Captain and Max a good night.

As great as he was feeling, he was running out of steam and running out quick. She watched as he fought to keep himself awake as he put his gear away into the lockers just outside the navigation terminal. Poor guy was beat. 

“Max,” The Captain called gently and cautiously to the worn out man standing next to her; “What do you say we get some sleep?”

He looked to her in response, his heart skipping a beat at the sight of her. She took his breath away every time.

“That’s the best idea you’ve had all day, Captain.” He agreed.

Her cabin had never sounded so good. They entered with simultaneous sighs of relief. It had been quite the day. He stripped down to his sleep shorts and...well, not much else. She fell onto the bed first, groaning at the feel of the mattress under her. He kissed her with a happy hum before collapsing onto her frame. He rested his head on her chest, leaving another kiss on her collarbone. She brought her hands to his hair, rubbing gingerly and scratching soothingly at his scalp.

“Thank you for today. I hope you know I’m forever grateful.” He thanked her, his eyes fluttering shut.

“Anything for you.” She replied, kissing his silvery hair.

It was silent for a few moments and just as the Captain thought he had fallen asleep, he spoke again;

“Did you mean what you said back there? That I’m a better man than I give myself credit for?” He asked curiously, eyes still closed.

She was confused for a moment. Again, she didn’t remember much of what happened during the trip. She then realized what he was saying. During the interaction with the hallucination, she mentioned that Max was a far better man that he believed himself to be. It had moved him intensely and it resonated with him just how much he loved her. 

“Of course I meant it. I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t.” She responded.

He smiled for the thousandth time that day, his breathing beginning to slow as sleep quickly encumbered him;

“You’ll never know how much you mean to me, Captain.” He said, finally drifting to sleep.

Her heart fluttered at that. She loved him so much and it was such a great thing to see him this way. She moved one of her hands to his bare back, rubbing up and down. Thinking he was still awake; she poured out her heart;

“Oh, Max. You always know what to say,” She cooed; “I’m so glad you found what you were looking for. Even if it wasn’t what you realized you needed.”

She continued to let her nails lightly and lazily drag across his skin. She felt his steady breathing and traced over the scar he had over his shoulder blade. She always wondered how he got it. She took his lack of response to mean he was still listening, so she went on;

“I’ve never felt about anyone the way I feel about you. I really love you,” She told him; “You don’t have to say it back. I wouldn’t want you to if you didn’t mean it.” 

She stopped her ministrations with her hands while she waited for an answer. When she didn’t get one, she feared that she had overstepped. She cocked her head to get a better glimpse of him;

“Max?” She called.

That’s when she saw his completely closed eyes and the faint sound of his snores. She refrained from laughing too hard, not wanting to shake him awake. That was just her luck. Build up enough love to confess her love for him and he doesn’t even hear it. Oh, well. It might have been a little too much for him to handle along with everything else that had happened that day. She’d be sure to tell him the next day...or whenever she felt that it was right. 

She kissed his head again before quietly calling for ADA to turn off the lights. Once they were in total darkness, the Captain said one final sentence before joining him in a well deserved slumber.

“Goodnight, Max.”


End file.
